Butternut Squash Soup

With the fall weather this week I have been thinking about butternut squash. Which is interesting because I have never cooked butternut squash in my life. I have eaten some good butternut squash soup a time or two and when I found out my old high school friend and college roommate had a recipe for it I decided this was the year to try it myself. Susan is a great cook and I knew I could count on whatever recipe she used to be good.

I did make a few changes because 1) I wanted make it a little less healthy by using real butter and 2) I didn't have whole garlic, soy milk or vegetable broth. So I just used what I had. Susan's soup was great and fairly quick and easy to make.

Since I had never cut into a butternut squash in my life, I decided to go to YouTube to watch some people do it. Like most things, there are various ways, but I decided to use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin. Then I cut it in half lengthwise, took out the seeds and chopped the squash into uniform pieces. Peeling and chopping were the most challenging part, but it's pretty easy once you know how!

Butternut Squash looks alot like pumpkin inside but is much smaller and easier to work with. I thought it was more flavorful than pumpkin and more versatile and interesting.

I watched several videos on You Tube and found out there are a gazillion ways to make soup and other dishes with butternut squash. You can start with a basic soup and add spices ranging from thyme to sage to curry to chipotle.

After I had made Susan's soup, Mama called. She knew I had a hankering to learn to use butternut squash and she had found a Butternut Squash Soup recipe in Woman's Day magazine that added gala apples, apple juice and heavy cream. It's garnished with Gruyere cheese. Yum. Now that I know how easy it is, I'll try that one soon.


Susan Woodard's Butternut Squash Soup

2 tbsp Olive Olive (I used real butter and more of it!)
1 diced onion
4 cloves minced garlic (I used garlic powder)
4 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large (or 2 small) butternut squash, peeled and chopped
5 cups vegetable broth (I used 4 cups chicken broth and added a little water)
2 tbsp fresh sage (I had fresh in the garden and used about 5 leaves)
1/2 cup soy milk (I used 2% milk)
salt, pepper to taste (I used black pepper and white pepper)

In a large pot, sautee onion, garlic in butter about 3-5 mins. Add carrots, celery and cook another 3-5 mins. Add squash and stir just to coat. Then add broth and sage. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 25 minutes or until the squash is soft.

Using a potato masher or fork, mash the squash until smooth, or puree in blender. I prefer some texture in soup so I didn't puree.

Stir in the milk and season with salt and pepper.

When you pour into soup bowls, you can garnish with crumbled cheese (gorgonzola or blue is good) and croutons.